Bill would keep kids from driving ATVs

Friday

Jan 29, 2010 at 12:01 AMJan 29, 2010 at 1:51 PM

All-terrain vehicles, off-road motor cycles and snowmobiles may soon be off-limits to children under 14. That’s the aim of a bill inspired by the death of an 8-year-old Plymouth boy after an ATV crash.

Nancy Reardon

Unless an adult is around, all-terrain vehicles, off-road motorcycles and snowmobiles would be off-limits to children under 14.

That’s the aim of a bill inspired by the death of an 8-year-old Plymouth boy after an ATV crash.

The legislation, called Sean’s bill in memory of Sean Kearney, passed the state Senate on Thursday and is headed to the House. That’s where it stalled last session.

The legislation would require that ATVs be registered, that users wear helmets and that anyone younger than 14 be prohibited from using one without adult supervision.

In October 2006, Sean Kearney went to a friend’s house and was seriously injured in an ATV crash. No adult was watching Sean and his friend while they were riding. Five days after the crash, Sean died.

His parents, Katie and Mark Kearney, have been pushing the state ever since to raise the age limit for ATV riders and have made more than a dozen trips to Beacon Hill. They testified most recently during a public hearing in July.

During the Legislature’s last session, the bill was heard and redrafted by the Transportation Committee. It passed in the Senate, but the House ran out of time to vote on it.